1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an embroidery data reading apparatus for a sewing machine and, more particularly, to an embroidery, or pattern, data reading apparatus that can read embroidery, or pattern, data from outside of the apparatus and cancel the reading of embroidery, or pattern, data during the reading.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, an electronically-controlled sewing machine with an embroidery function has an embroidery frame driving mechanism that moves and drives an embroidery frame independently in crosswise directions. The sewing machine is designed to actuate a machine motor and the embroidery frame driving mechanism based on sewing data for a desired embroidery pattern selected via a display, thereby to embroider the pattern on a work cloth set in the embroidery frame, using a plurality of color threads.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-123471 and Japanese Patent No. 2561650, the applicant suggests a sewing machine designed to store a plurality of sets of pattern data (including display data used for displaying a pattern on the display and sewing data for forming stitches) related to embroidery patterns in a ROM provided in the controller or a detachable ROM card, thereby listing embodiments of the embroidery patterns on the display to select a desired pattern and embroidering the pattern.
Some suppliers, who create and sell various colorful embroidery patterns, such as a flower and an animal, create sewing data for new embroidery patterns using an embroidery pattern creating device or embroidery pattern editing system which is made up of a personal computer. They create display data for the new embroidery patterns, link the sewing data and the display data with pattern names, write them into a floppy disk via a floppy disk drive, and sell the embroidery floppy disk.
Therefore, a recent electronically-controlled sewing machine for domestic use is equipped with a floppy disk drive to read a purchased embroidery floppy disk. In this manner, a desired embroidery pattern stored in the floppy disk can be embroidered easily at a lower price compared to those in a ROM card. In this case, a plurality of embroidery pattern names are shown by a list during pattern selection. When a pattern name is selected from the list, its display data and sewing data are read successively. The pattern is displayed based on the display data. After the sewing data is completely read, the sewing is started.
As described above, in the electronically-controlled sewing machine, for domestic or home use, disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-123471 and Japanese Patent No. 2561650, data are stored in a ROM provided in the controller of the machine or in a ROM card. While the display data and moving data for a selected embroidery pattern are read therefrom, the reading can not be canceled. Even if the pattern selected by mistake has a lot of stitches, the operator has to wait until the reading is completed.
In this kind of sewing machine equipped with a mechanical storage medium, such as a floppy disk drive, especially when the display data and the sewing data for the selected pattern are read from the floppy disk, the head-load time and the seek time for a reading address are required. As a result, the data read-in speed of the floppy disk becomes lower than that of a ROM. If the operator notices the pattern has been selected by mistake during the reading of the sewing data for the pattern, the reading can not be canceled halfway. And what is even worse, the operator has to wait without doing anything until the reading is completed. In particular, when the pattern being read has a lot of stitches to be sewn, the time the operator has to wait becomes longer. Therefore, operability and workability deteriorate.
The read display data and sewing data for the pattern selected by mistake are stored in a data memory, such as a RAM, of the controller in the sewing machine. In this case, unnecessary data remain in the data memory. To make the best use of the data memory, an operation to clear the data therein is necessary. When the pattern has been selected by mistake, the operability and the workability again deteriorate.